weigertenvsweiterenWhat's the difference?

Quick tell: weigerten is a verb, weiteren is an adjective, so they fill different roles in a sentence.

Which to use

“weigerten” is a verb and “weiteren” is an adjective - they look or sound alike but fill different roles in a sentence.

#37,887
“weigerten” frequency rank
#575
“weiteren” frequency rank
38462
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature weigerten weiteren
Definition 1. Person Plural Indikativ Präteritum Aktiv des Verbs weigern Verschiedene Flexionsformen des Adjektivs weiter, das selbst wiederum den Komparativ des Adjektivs weit darstellt:

Where the spellings diverge

Shared letters are muted; the letters that actually set weigerten and weiteren apart are highlighted. They share 7 letters in sequence, which is exactly why the eye skips the difference.

9 ch
weigerten
8 ch
weiteren

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

These two trip readers on the page rather than in the ear: weigerten is [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐtn̩] while weiteren is [ˈvaɪ̯təʁən]. Spoken aloud the problem disappears. In writing it persists, because they differ by 1 letter(s) in length, and the parts of speech differ too (verb vs adjective), which is usually the fastest check. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 38462, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

weigerten is recorded at frequency rank #37,887, classified as averb, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯ɡɐtn̩]. weiteren is at rank #575, tagged as anadj, pronounced [ˈvaɪ̯təʁən].

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 38462, this pair ranks #1,563,361 of 2,006,359 scored German confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of weigerten vs weiteren

Shared letters: einrtw. Private to "weigerten": g. Private to "weiteren": -.

"weigerten" · 9 letters · shape CVVCVCCVC  ·  "weiteren" · 8 letters · shape CVVCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • weigertenewigerten · wegierten · weiegrten · weigeretn · weigerrten · weigertenn · weigertne · weigertten
  • weiterenewiteren · weietren · weiteern · weiterenn · weiterne · weiterren · weitreen · weitteren

Frequency comparison

weigerten#37,887
weiteren#575

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "weigerten" and "weiteren" be used interchangeably?
No - they are not even the same part of speech. "weigerten" is a verb and "weiteren" an adjective, so a sentence built for one is usually ungrammatical with the other.
Which is more common, "weigerten" or "weiteren"?
"weiteren" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #575 in our German list, against #37,887 for "weigerten". That is a wide gap, so in ordinary text the rarer spelling is the one worth double-checking.

Remembering weigerten vs weiteren

The fastest way to pick the right one every time.

  • Check the role first: if you need a verb, it's “weigerten”; for an adjective, it's “weiteren”.
  • See each word in full, definition, IPA, etymology and its other confusables. Full “weigerten” entry
  • Browse more pairs most likely to be confused. Most confusable

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list